The present invention relates to the disposal of contaminated and hazardous items, and in particular, to the disposal of sharps in a hospital or similar medical environment.
The term "sharps" is defined as articles having a sharp point or a sharp cutting edge. In a hospital environment, sharps are generally hypodermic injection syringe needles, single use disposable syringes with the needles attached, and single or double-ended sampling needles which are thread engaged to a sampling syringe body. After use, the tip of a hypodermic needle may bear a variety of diseases, such as hepatitis or AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), which can be communicated to one who is accidentally pricked or stuck by the used needle. So prevalent are such accidental needle sticks that some estimates suggest that millions of dollars a year are spent in running blood tests following needle sticks to discover whether or not a disease may have been communicated, and to prophylactically treat the potential disease when such tests are positive. This cost is reflected in increased medical bills which are paid by all users of the hospital facility. Because of this problem, current guidelines of the U.S. Center for Disease Control require immediate disposal of hypodermic needles or other sharps at their site of use immediately following an injection.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel sharps disposal system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sharps disposal system which is secure in that it cannot be accidentally opened or easily intentionally invaded.
These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof, will become clear from the disclosure which follows.